Dover residents challenge officials over Fire Department restructuring, town salary hikes
DOVER — Firefighter volunteers and supporters turned out in numbers at a packed Town Hall meeting Tuesday night to oppose a proposal to restructure the 100-year-old Fire Department.
The ordinance, written by Alderwoman Cindy Romaine, would create a combined paid and volunteer fire department, superseding the current ordinance establishing it as an all-volunteer department.
"There is a bunch of little mistakes and problems [with the ordinance]. All we want is a good-quality piece of paper," said Dover Fire Chief Robert Sperry, who is a volunteer.
The ordinance creates a new structure for the department that includes a fire chief and a deputy chief, who could be paid or volunteer.
It also consolidates the department to include:
- Career captain
- Volunteer captain
- Career lieutenant
- Career firefighters
- Volunteer firefighters
- Emergency medical technicians
- Fire Department chaplain
Over the last five years, the department has lost volunteers as paid firefighters have been hired. The department currently staffs 14 career firefighters. Dover paid Firefighters George Glander and Johnathan Press said the new ordinance was rewritten to meet the needs of a New Jersey fire statute.
"The volunteers have diminished because the town is bringing in paid people," said 29-year volunteer Firefighter Mike Hulmes. I don't think we really need what they propose, the 18 [paid] firemen. We have an EMS problem, not a fire one."
The proposed ordinance comes after a state grant was awarded this year to hire four new firefighters and maintain the number of trained front-line firefighters available to the community. Dover has received three grants over the last decade and hired one firefighter in 2013, four in 2017 and four more in 2018.
"Manpower is important, reliability is important, and the speed and availability we provide in service is important," Glander said. "This is our opportunity to evolve into the department the town needs and deserves."
During the summer, Public Safety Director Dan DeGroot met with past fire chiefs to discuss a new ordinance and gather input from both paid and volunteer firefighters. But according to volunteers, they never saw the ordinance that was put before the board last night.
After over an hour of heated public comment, Mayor James Dodd motioned to table the ordinance until next month's town meeting and continue conversations with volunteer firefighters.
Salary resolution
Town officials also approved pay raises and title changes for more than a dozen municipal employees.
During the meeting's public comment period, Dover Board of Education member and resident Karol Ruiz questioned Alderwoman Carolyn Blackman's vote in favor of the action. After a back-and-forth between Ruiz and the board, Dodd called officers to remove her from the meeting. Four officers carried Ruiz out of the meeting after she dropped to the ground and refused to leave.
Aldermen attempted to override the decision after Blackman said she intended to vote against it, but they were unsuccessful.
"I refused to be silenced and refused to leave," Ruiz said after her removal. "Our officers were gentle with me and respected my rights to remain in the building, despite the mayor's continued demands to force me to leave.".
Dodd lost his bid for reelection this year to Blackman after a tense mayoral race. Blackman will serve as Dover's first black woman mayor and take the seat in 2020.
Jessie Gomez is a local reporter for DailyRecord.com and NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
Email: jgomez@gannettnj.com Twitter: @jessiereport
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